An article in the 20 July 2024 edition of The Week describes pollution’s impact on reproduction
Exposure to air pollution before the retrieval of eggs can cut women’s chances of having a live birth after IVF by approximately 40%, an Australian study has found. The research was based on some 1,836 women who had frozen embryo transfers. The team looked at the air quality in the weeks and months before their eggs were collected, and found that greater exposure to particulate matter pollution (PM2.5 and PM10) correlated to a lower chance of a successful birth. The women who were exposed to the highest levels in the two weeks prior had a 38% lower chance of having a live birth than those with the lowest levels. Those exposed to air pollution in the months before embryo transfer were also less likely to have a live birth. Yet throughout the study, the air quality was good. Levels of PM2.5 and PM10 exceeded WHO guidelines on fewer than 5% of the study days. The researchers said their findings were distinctive in suggesting that pollution has a negative impact on the quality of eggs, not just the early stages of pregnancy. “Climate change and pollution remain the greatest threats to human health, and human reproduction is not immune to this,” noted Dr Sebastian Leathersich, the lead author of the study.
There are lots of pollutants, some of them overlooked. Burning petrol and diesel are the easy ones. There is also the friction of car tyres on the road that sends particulate matter spewing into the air. Put your foot on the brakes and the brake pads spew particulate matter.
Get into a new car and breathe in. Walk Into any furniture shop. Smell the plastic seats in a cafe. Smell the plastics leaching into the air.
Or consider the reclamation industries in third world countries. Workers burn off plastic computers to get at the precious metals inside. That releases PCBs. Travel in air currents around the globe and reduce fertility in polar bears in the sub-Arctic.
I’ve said it before – stopping burning fossil fuels will help fight change. But why even make that argument? Stop polluting because pollutants are killing us right now.